Most of the unsolicited calls these days have a caller ID very close to your number or a 5 or 6 digit caller ID. Either you do not answer or set your phone to ring only when callers on your contact list call. That takes care of 99% of the junk calls. Needless to say that you should not give out any numbers on the phone unless you initiated the call to your bank, brokerage or IRS using the number posted on their website. You can verify who they are if they ask you questions to identify yourself and you too can ask them questions such as what was the exact amount of a transaction you made on a particular day that you know.
Scammers and Telemarketers can put out any caller ID and it is surely possible that they can put out the caller ID of someone in your list. That is a different issue and if that happens, ask your friends to send you a text message which identifies them with something only you told them and you call them back. Luckily, I did not yet have to resort to that but that is what we need to do these days.
Other thing to be aware of:
When on vacation be aware that your posts or photos or reviews if seen by public can clearly let the public know that you are not home. Not a good idea to post ANYTHING to public when out of town. Good to inform 2 or 3 neighbors and your major credit card companies of your travel plans to help prevent fraud. Better to avoid using credit card abroad. Debit card is safer. Better to use Debit cards with low or zero foreign transaction and ATM and take cash on a need basis at a very public ATM during the day.
Scammers and Telemarketers can put out any caller ID and it is surely possible that they can put out the caller ID of someone in your list. That is a different issue and if that happens, ask your friends to send you a text message which identifies them with something only you told them and you call them back. Luckily, I did not yet have to resort to that but that is what we need to do these days.
Other thing to be aware of:
When on vacation be aware that your posts or photos or reviews if seen by public can clearly let the public know that you are not home. Not a good idea to post ANYTHING to public when out of town. Good to inform 2 or 3 neighbors and your major credit card companies of your travel plans to help prevent fraud. Better to avoid using credit card abroad. Debit card is safer. Better to use Debit cards with low or zero foreign transaction and ATM and take cash on a need basis at a very public ATM during the day.
